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Chinatown Community Development Center Celebrates the Grand Re-opening of 227 Bay Street Affordable Housing for Seniors and People with Disabilities

(San Francisco, CA, Tuesday, April 10, 2018) Today, Chinatown Community Development Center (Chinatown CDC) celebrated the grand re-opening of 227 Bay Street to commemorate the dramatic transformation of Chinatown CDC’s first public housing site to be rehabilitated as part of the Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) Program. The RAD program was created to improve and preserve public housing by transferring ownership of public housing sites from the San Francisco Housing Authority (SFHA) to community-based affordable housing developers.

"We are grateful to the late Mayor Lee who led the effort with Mayor’s Office of Housing Community Development (MOHCD), San Francisco Housing Authority (SFHA), US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and Bank of America Merrill Lynch to make it possible to rehabilitate 227 Bay Street and other public housing units," said Norman Fong, Executive Director of Chinatown CDC.

In addition to 227 Bay Street apartments, another 3,500 public housing units, under the RAD program, will undergo major rehabilitation to improve safety condition and habitability for San Francisco residents.

“By transforming 227 Bay Street, we are ensuring that our seniors and persons with disabilities have the support and resources they need to live in San Francisco,” said Mayor Mark Farrell. “Making San Francisco a city for everyone requires more than just building new homes—we need to restore and replace existing buildings that are home to our residents. Thanks to the collaborative work of our public and private partners, 227 Bay Street is a state-of-the art site that meets the needs of our communities.”

The Bay Area is currently facing one of the severe affordable housing crisis in history. The 227 Bay Street Apartments will provide long-term rental assistance and supportive services, giving our most vulnerable residents a place to call home.

“I have actively championed every single 100% affordable housing project that has come before me, and seeing 227 Bay Street finally realized is very special,” said Supervisor Aaron Peskin. “The renovation of our public housing is just as critical to stabilizing our housing crisis as building new developments. This project will expand on the efforts of the Ping Yuen rebuild, Broadway and Battery, and Broadway and Sansome affordable housing projects to showcase that District 3 is truly a model for affordable sustainable neighborhoods. I’m very glad to see Chinatown CDC shepherding this process, given their deep roots in the community.”

During the renovation, Chinatown CDC’s property management team and resident services team, along with relocation specialists, helped residents move offsite to avoid the noise and disruption and to stay in communication with them while their units are being rehabbed.

“This important undertaking has brought the building up to the current standards of safety and design, providing seniors and people with disabilities with 50 beautifully renovated apartments that include new floors, kitchens and bathrooms and on-site support services to help connect residents to community resources,” stated Kate Hartley, Director of the Mayor’s Office of Housing & Community Development.